Your safety orientation program and the importance you give to safety generally say a lot about the importance of safety in your workplace. And remember—even if they don’t say so, the majority of new employees are deeply concerned about their safety on the job.

A study from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago reported that 85 percent of American workers rank job safety as a number-one priority.

Consider the ways you show new hires how important safety is in your workplace. For example:

• Does top management play a visible role in workplace safety, supporting and facilitating safety programs and initiatives?
• Does your organization integrate safe work practices with other job expectations?
• Is safety performance evaluated as part of an employee’s overall job performance?
• Do you promote an employee-driven safety culture that listens to and acts on employees’ safety suggestions and concerns?
• Do you have an active and empowered safety committee?
• Do you maintain a clean and orderly workplace and create a comfortable environment for employees to work in?
• Do supervisors enforce safety rules consistently?